(Newser)
–
In response to Donald Trump's order to release documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, on Friday the government made public an FBI file on Martin Luther King from March 1968, four-and-a-half years after Kennedy was shot. The document doesn't paint a flattering portrait of the civil rights leader, the Washington Post reports. It accuses him of being a “whole-hearted Marxist who has studied it (Marxism), believes in it and agrees with it, but because of his being a minister of religion, does not dare to espouse it publicly.” Though the language is harsh, it's not entirely surprising. It's long been known that the FBI, led by King nemesis J. Edgar Hoover, conducted surveillance on King in an attempt to prove his ties to the Communist Party and tarnish his reputation.

The document also includes insinuations about King's personal life, in particular extramarital affairs, and the accusation that King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a "tax dodge," CNN reports. The report also casts doubt on whether King should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The 20-document was one of 676 files released by the National Archive on Friday. Other documents released in response to the Trump order last month have included information about Lee Harvey Oswald and the Watergate burglars. It's not clear why the King file was hidden in government documents related to the Kennedy assassination.

One thing you have to really give him credit is playing southern Democrats like a base fiddle. He could simply take a bus ride and make the national news. Those Dixiecrats didn't realize all they had to do was just ignore him. But they played right into his hands especially when they thought arresting him on the spot would fix him. But that's why he went there because he knew the Pathe cameras would be rolling. On Saturday all theatres in the US would be showing the news reels of the arrest or beating. The Dixiecrats in my city eventually realized it when Charleton Heston showed up and carried protest signs down our main street. Then they realized all they had to do was just let everybody dine everywhere and not restrict bus or trolley rides. Now schools were the last issue because at that time, we had distinct Black and white schools. And I am amazed when I go into one of those old Black schools of the workmanship. You would think that white construction workers wouldn't care about artistic cornices, fancy moldings, and decorative friezes in a building made for Black people. But these guys were proud of their work regardless of use. Now many of those classic deco buildings are repurposed into office complexes, academies, and most recently a famous Black high school is a mid-rent apartment complex. They kept the theatre but got rid of the swimming pool. Yes, most junior and high schools of the 50's in this area had pools. Now none of them do.

JimW

Nov 5, 2017 2:18 PM CST

Marxism is a study of other "isms," ( capitalism, socialism, etc. ) detailing how they start, where they are, and how they will end up. "the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, later developed by their followers to form the basis for the theory and practice of communism. " Theories from which other systems evolved. It was meant to encourage the existence of NO classes of people.

NumpCump

Nov 5, 2017 2:14 PM CST

What a lot of extremely weak replies to this story Ignorance reigns supreme.